| I'm a second generation Chinese living in Indonesia. I have worked and studied in the U.S. for more than ten years. Here in Indonesia back in 1960s, Chinese name's prohibited by the government due to assimilation process. So, my parents (as many folks in their age) changed their name to sound more like locals (both first name and surname). For example, family name Wong (Wi, Hwang, Wang) changed into Wijaya, and for first name it's easier, they can choose whatever they like. I found out that most of my Chinese American friends have Western first name too, although they retain their Chinese surnames. Well, on the contratry from mcgjcn's post of not taking this on higher level, I believed that Chinese identity is in crisis. "Making fun of Chinese name" are not only happening in the U.S., but also other countries where overseas Chinese resided for generations. The Chinese lost their empire due to wars in the beginning of the Century to the West. This created an "inferior" mentality to Chinese (both overseas and mainlanders). It's a humiliation to Chinese all over the world, which created a whole new searching for identity according to the place they chose. We often don't see Japanese with a Western name, instead they are proud although foreigners have difficulty saying their names. That's why we hardly see Thomas Miyazaki around, instead of we see Yoshihiro Miyazaki. I was given a Western name by my father who adopted local Indonesian name. When I went abroad to study in the U.S., people found my name is easy compared to my Thai counterpart such as Itthiphoung Jeamjunjasiri. So at majority's expense, my name is Nick, instead of the Wong Chi Zi. So it's an issue of SHAME. Shame of being a Chinese. Soon, it's started to change. Chinese in Indonesia and overseas are now converting their children's name into Chinese again. Well, it's obvious that China is now powerful in economy and military. The proud of the Chinese is restored. It's not impossible that in the next hundred years or so, we see Westerners adopting Chinese names? |
Why I Don't Have an English Name